Community hubs need certainty
VICTORIA’S 401 Neighbourhood Houses play a vital role in helping locals access everything from food hampers through to training and education courses.
They are a meeting point and a connection to the community, yet the future of as many as 27 Neighbourhood Houses is now in jeopardy due to funding uncertainty from the Labor Government.
This is despite a concerted effort three years ago by the sector – supported by The Nationals – to secure additional funding of $5.4 million annually for the Neighbourhood House Coordination Program (NHCP).
This funding was used for core service provision purposes, with staff placed on permanent contracts and programs established using what people believed was secure, long-term funding.
To their shock, Victoria’s Neighbourhood Houses were later told the funding was a once-off, meaning programs may be axed, some staff may no longer have an ongoing position and could mean the closure of 12 rural Neighbourhood Houses.
Those Neighbourhood Houses that wouldn’t be forced to close could still be in a precarious situation, being unable to attract staff and having existing services impacted.
Ongoing funding would mean certainty for every Neighbourhood House, and the diverse community so dependent on each one of them, that has been short-changed by Labor.
Neighbourhood houses deliver an incredible range of services in the community, but it’s also the social aspect of going to a neighbourhood house, they are a vital cog in our community.
Remember this November how the Labor Government turned its back on our communities as the cost of living continues to skyrocket.
Only a Liberal and Nationals Government will ensure our Neighbourhood Houses receive the long-term funding they need.
Peter Walsh
Leader of The Nationals
Member for Murray Plains
Basin plan hijacked
I HAVE read numerous articles in our major newspapers about the latest Murray-Darling Basin Plan report, which follows politicising before and since the election, and they all lament the failure to deliver 450 gigalitres of environmental water under this plan.
These reports, almost in their entirety, claim only two or 2.6 gigalitres of 450GL to be delivered for the environment under the Basin Plan have been recovered, or as one national newspaper stated, “had been returned to the Murray-Darling Basin”.
Not one of the reports I have seen provided a full and accurate account of water recovery under the Basin Plan. Is this because many politicians, commentators and reporters do not understand the plan, or for whatever reason, choose to be selective?
Here are the facts: Under the Basin Plan, 2750GL has to be recovered for the environment (not 450GL). Of this, more than 2,100GL has already been recovered and is being used to improve the basin’s environment, while the rest is part of projects to achieve further environmental outcomes. An additional 450GL was added to the Basin Plan at the last minute, at the insistence of the South Australian Government. However, it had a caveat that this water can only be recovered if strict social and economic criteria are met. The criteria were recently reaffirmed by federal and state water ministers (both Labor and Coalition).
The Basin Plan is a complex policy and management document that is being hijacked for political and ideological purposes. If we stick to the facts, while fully and accurately reporting and commentating on the plan’s successes and areas in need of improvement, we will have a healthier basin for all Australians.
One vital fact is indisputable: more than 2100GL has been recovered and is being used to improve the basin’s environment. Let’s not gloss over this.
Shelley Scoullar
Chair
Speak Up Campaign
